Some still cry foul over bigger baseball net at New Trier

April 30, 2013|By Gregory Trotter, Chicago Tribune reporter

At a recent New Trier High School baseball game, a right-handed batter steps in. New Trier has proposed to build a 50-foot tall net to prevent foul balls from arcing over the backstop onto Willow Road. (Gregory Trotter, Chicago Tribune)

At a recent baseball game at Duke Childs Field, a right-handed batter for New Trier High School fouled back a pitch.

Arcing over the backstop, the ball landed in Willow Road and skidded between cars in rush hour traffic. Later that inning, another ball was fouled back, hitting a parked car in the lot with a dull thud.

Both balls — which just barely cleared the 25-foot-tall backstop — would have been blocked by the 50-foot netting system proposed by New Trier, intended to keep balls on the field and prevent accidents on the busy road.

Although recently endorsed by the Winnetka Plan Commission, the new net would negatively affect the aesthetic of that entrance into the village, some say. But baseball parents, school officials and some who have witnessed close calls say the safety measure is long overdue.

"There is absolutely a need," said Jeff Kost, a Wilmette resident, as he watched his son, Adam Kost, play third base. "It's an accident waiting to happen."

It's been an uphill slog for New Trier school officials. After three meetings on the subject, the plan commission finally recommended a special use permit at its recent meeting. Now, the plan must return to the zoning board on May 13 before moving on to the village council for approval.

The meetings have at times been contentious, with some plan commissioners questioning New Trier's preparation and public engagement.

"We've heard nothing about a public hearing," said a clearly exasperated John Thomas, the Winnetka Park Board's representative to the plan commission, at the recent meeting. "They haven't even addressed the matter."

Many qualms about the net have pertained to its appearance. The 50-foot-high black net would extend, from dugout to dugout, behind home plate and run along the first baseline, parallel to Willow Road. The existing backstop would be replaced with a black chain-link fence that would blend in with the net, said Steve Linke, New Trier's facilities manager, at the meeting.

Supporters say it would actually be an aesthetic improvement at Duke Childs Field. But others say it would be a jarring visual change for Winnetka.

"The thing that bothers me most are the size of the poles. They're enormous," said Louise Holland, the landmark preservation committee's representative to the plan commission.

Holland referred to the 16-inch diameter poles that New Trier school officials have said are necessary to support a netting system that is 50-feet tall.

A 50-foot net would stop 95 percent of the foul balls, Linke said, according to engineering estimates, compared with 85 percent for a 40-foot net. The shorter the net, he said, the less effective it would be — hence the need for the wide poles to support the tall net.

New Trier school officials also presented landscaping plans, drawn up by the Lakota Group. Evergreen trees would be planted near home plate and deciduous trees along the first base line to soften the visual impact of the netting. The total cost of the plan is projected at about $75,000, Linke said.

Both Thomas and Jack Coladarci, plan commissioner, took umbrage with the lack of a public hearing on the "ugly structure," beyond the sparsely-attended planning and zoning meetings that have already taken place.

"This is visually injurious to the village," said Coladarci, an attorney. "We need to hear from the people who will live with this after the players graduate and move on, after the people from other towns go home."

Plan commissioner Chuck Dowding did his own research. He presented possibilities for the poles to be 16 inches at the base but tapered at top, lessening the visual impact. Dowding said he contacted distributors who could build that kind of system.

"There's a possibility for this to go forward but I'd like to see you work on the poles some more," said Dowding, an engineering professor at Northwestern University.

The plan commission's approval came with four recommendations: more public outreach, consideration of tapered poles, reconsideration of a retractable netting system — as opposed to the permanent, rigid structure — and more landscaping within the parking lot.

In one of the previous planning meetings, Linke had addressed the issue of a retractable system, saying it would be more expensive and less durable over the long haul. Linke has also said the 16-inch poles were carefully recommended by an engineer studying such factors as wind speed and soil quality.

"We're going to reexamine and seriously consider their recommendations," said Randy Oberembt, New Trier's athletic director.

Oberembt said there was an average of about six to eight baseball games played on the field every week when the season is in full swing.

Parents at the game the next day said about 10 balls per game are hit into Willow Road. By the top of the third inning, three balls had already been fouled back over the backstop, two of them onto Willow.

Bo LaMotte, father of the Trevian shortstop, Drew LaMotte, said he's seen people run into Willow after the balls, creating an entirely different safety hazard. With the baseball net, as with many things in life, he said, it's important to consider a better way, even if it represents uncomfortable change for some.

"Just because it's the way it's always been done doesn't make it the right thing to do," LaMotte said.